AN overgrown, rat-infested plot of land in Buckley is at the centre of a major row.

Lane End residents want the site tidied up or turned into a car park, but plans to tackle the eyesore have been hampered for years by a dispute over ownership.

Alyn and Deeside MP Mark Tami is keen to break the deadlock and is inviting interested parties to meet on site in a bid to resolve the nightmare of 'no man's land' once and for all.

The land at the centre of the ownership wrangle is the site of the former Palace cinema.

C & S Glaziers is confident of victory, as managing director Brian Clarkson explained: 'The old cinema was demolished 30 years ago by the former Alyn and Deeside Council, which decided the building was un-safe.

'The council never managed to trace the owner, so we fenced off the land more than six years ago as it is next to our premises and now we want to tidy it up.

'We have instructed our solicitors to register our owner-ship of the site and have plans to use it as a car park and showground for conservatories.'

But Flintshire County Council is to challenge the claim.

A spokesman said: 'There is a long and complex history to this land dispute to which there is no easy solution and we await Mr Tami to contact us on the matter.'

The spokesman said in the past the council had responded to reports of rats on the site by laying bait, but no vermin had been found.

As there were fresh reports of infestation, the exercise would be repeated.

Local resident Thelma Gatrell, of Chester Road, said: 'The land is in a disgusting state. I would have thought that if the council paid for the demolition of the old cinema with ratepayers' money, then it's in the public interest that it is given ownership of the site.

'We live in terraced houses nearby and have nowhere to park. This land would be ideal for a residents' car park and I strongly object to any individual or business laying claim to it.'

Cllr Ron Hampson said the ownership issue had to be resolved quickly so that the site could be tidied up and welcomed Mr Tami's bid to break the impasse once and for all.

'What's certain is that this land is an eyesore and can't be left in such a rat-infested, over-grown state,' he added.